Charges Filed In Absentia Against Russian General And Colonel Over Attacks On Okhmatdyt And Reuters Journalists

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) According to Ukrinform, the SSU reported this.

“According to the case file, one of the suspects is Russian Major General Mykola Varpakhovych, commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Russian Armed Forces. The investigation established that on July 8, 2024, the officer issued a combat order to carry out a missile strike on the“Okhmatdyt” National Children's Specialized Hospital in Kyiv,” the statement reads.

The SSU noted that at that time, long-range aviation units under Varpakhovich's command carried out a precision strike on the medical facility using an“Kh-101” air-to-ground cruise missile, which was launched from a Russian Tu-95MS missile-carrying bomber.

“At the time of the attack, there were over 600 patients in the hospital. Two people were killed, including a doctor, and dozens more were injured. The missile completely destroyed the toxicology wing and damaged four other buildings where surgical operations were being performed and children with cancer were being treated,” the SSU reported.

Another suspect is Russian Colonel Alexander Lutovinov, commander of the missile brigade of the 49th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation's Southern Military District.

According to the investigation, he organized a missile strike on the“Sapphire” hotel complex in Kramatorsk on August 24, 2024. As a result of this attack, a security advisor for the international news agency Reuters was killed, and five of his colleagues sustained injuries of varying severity.

According to the investigation, the decision to carry out the strike was made by Colonel General Alexei Kim, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, whom the SSU has already notified of the charges against him in absentia.

“In accordance with his criminal order, Lutovinov directly ordered his subordinates to launch an 'Iskander-M' ballistic missile from the Rostov region,” the SSU emphasized.

Read also: Ukraine imposes sanctions on Russians involved in missile strike on Okhmatdyt

Investigators from the SSU's Main Investigative Directorate have charged Varpakhovych and Lutovinov in absentia under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (war crimes resulting in loss of life).

Comprehensive measures are underway to bring them to justice.

As previously reported, on July 8, 2024, Russia carried out a terrorist attack on the Okhmatdyt National Children's Specialized Hospital. The strike killed two people and injured 35, including nine children.

The hospital's toxicology wing was destroyed, and the surgical and new wings, as well as the Ministry of Health's pediatric cardiology center, were damaged.

Five buildings of the medical facility were damaged, including the toxicology wing, the Soviet-era surgical wing, and the new treatment and diagnostic wing, as well as a transformer substation.

On the night of August 24, 2024, Russian forces launched a missile strike on a hotel in Kramatorsk where Reuters journalists were staying. Reuters security adviser Ryan Evans, a former British military officer, was killed.

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